What happened
The stock of Canadian marijuana company Flora Growth (FLGC -0.65%) produced a sweet high for investors at the end of the week by closing Friday almost 7% higher. That was on the back of the company's announcement that it has signed a deal to enter a new market in Latin America.
So what
Flora Growth isn't wasting any time jumping into what is almost certain to become the world's newest medical marijuana market, Panama. The cannabis company announced that it has signed a letter of intent with that country's Robust Farms covering the import of Flora Growth's cannabidiol-derivative products.
The Canadian company did not disclose any financial particulars of the arrangement.
Image source: Getty Images.
Panama is a hot topic in the cannabis world these days. On Aug. 30, its legislature, the National Assembly, unanimously passed a bill legalizing the consumption and sale of medical marijuana. The bill is still awaiting the signature of President Laurentino Cortizo, but given the lopsided vote and the support of the general populace for the move, it's likely this will occur fairly soon.
The company already has operations in Colombia, one of the very few Latin American countries that has legalized medical marijuana so far.
Now what
Flora Growth is clearly anticipating more dominoes will fall in the region. In the likely case that occurs, we can count on the company making early pushes into those markets just like it's doing with Panama.
It quoted CEO Luis Merchan as saying, "It's important to recognize the continued trend of medical and adult-use cannabis legalization sweeping across the globe as governments increasingly recognize its therapeutic properties, and want to control, regulate, and tax these products to foster economic prosperity, as well as bring significant reform in civil rights and criminal justice."
